From Heavenly Harmony
Ancient Maranatha Music
by Ken Myers
In 1524, two influential Protestant hymnals were published in Germany. The first, edited by Luther and fellow Lutheran pastor Paul Speratus and published in Wittenberg, was a 12-page booklet with only eight hymns. The second larger and more influential volume, the Erfurt Enchiridion, contained 26 hymns, 18 of them by Luther. One of the most enduring of these, the Advent hymn "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland," evidences Luther's genius of reforming rather than disposing of the liturgical tradition of the Church. If you've sung "Savior of the Nations, Come" on one of the Sundays in Advent, you, too, have been a conveyance of a particular treasure within that inheritance, sharing an experience with . . .
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Ken Myers is the host and producer of the Mars Hill Audio Journal. Formerly an arts editor with National Public Radio, he also served as editor of Eternity, the Evangelical monthly magazine, and This World, the quarterly predecessor to First Things. He also serves as music director at All Saints Anglican Church in Ivy, Virginia. He is a contributing editor for Touchstone.
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more on music from the online archives
33.3—May/June 2020
Bach's Cantata BWV 106, Gottes Zeit ist die allerbesteZeit (God's time is the very best time) by Ken Myers
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